Print ordering system and control method therefor, and server computer and communication terminal used for print ordering system and control method therefor

ABSTRACT

In order to make it possible to simply order extra prints, an image viewing/ordering ID and an image viewing/ordering password and an order determining ID and an order determining password are issued (created) when input of image data is accepted. Each of members belonging to a group transmits to a server  6  the image viewing/ordering ID and password to a server  6  using a portable telephone set  20 A. Image data related to the image viewing/ordering ID is transmitted to the portable telephone set  20 A from the server  6 . While seeing images displayed on a display screen of the portable telephone set  20 A, each of the members belonging to the group selects the image whose extra prints are ordered, and transmits the number of ordered prints of the image to the server  6 . When the order determining ID and password are transmitted to the server  6  using the portable telephone set  20 A, the order given by the member is made definite, thereby making a desired number of extra prints of the image desired by the members.

This application is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No.09/917,728, filed on Jul. 31, 2001, the entire contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference and for which priority is claimed under35 U.S.C. §120.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a print ordering system and a controlmethod therefor, and a server computer and a communication terminal usedfor the print ordering system and a control method therefor.

2. Description of the Background Art

In a DPE (Develop, Print & Enlarge) agent, an undeveloped film isdeposited from a customer, and is developed (the DPE agent may, in somecases, request another shop to develop the film). The film is developed,and images recorded on the developed film are printed (simultaneousprinting). The developed film and its prints are later returned to thecustomer.

Some customer may, in some cases, take the developed film to the DPEagent again in order to request to make extra prints (extra printing).The customer informs a clerk employed in the DPE agent which of theimages (frames) recorded on the developed film should be printed extraand how many extra prints of the image should be made. It is necessaryto previously put S together images whose extra prints are desired to bemade and the respective numbers of extra prints of the images. In anycase, the customer must visit the DEP agent at least twice when theextra prints are made.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to simplyorder prints and particularly, extra prints without visiting a DEP agenta plurality of times.

Another object of the present invention is to make it easy to puttogether orders in a group comprising a plurality of members.

Still another object of the present invention is to make it possible tosimply classify prints by information respectively printed on thereverse surfaces of the prints.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device forprocessing an undeveloped film.

A print ordering system according to the present invention is a systemconstructed by connecting a server computer having an image databasestoring image data and a communication terminal such that they cancommunicate with each other through a network.

The server computer comprises image data transmission means (device) fortransmitting the image data stored in the image database to thecommunication terminal in response to an image transmission request fromthe communication terminal. The communication terminal used for theimage transmission request includes a variety of devices such as aportable telephone set, an electronic notebook, and a personal computer.

The communication terminal has a display device for displaying an imagerepresented by the image data transmitted from the server computer, andorder information transmission means (device) for transmitting to theserver computer order information related to prints of the imagedisplayed on the display device.

The server computer further comprises a storage device for storing theorder information transmitted from the communication terminal.

The communication terminal further comprises print command transmissionmeans (device) for transmitting a print command to the server computer.

The server computer further comprises means for (a controller)controlling a printer so as to print the image represented by the imagedata specified on the basis of the order information stored in thestorage device in response to the receiving of the print command.

The present invention also provides a method of controlling theabove-mentioned system. That is, the present invention provides a methodof controlling a print ordering system in which a server computer havingan image database storing image data and a communication terminal can beconnected such that they can communicate with each other through anetwork.

In the system controlling method, the server computer transmits theimage data stored in the image database to the communication terminal inresponse to an image transmission request from the communicationterminal. On the communication terminal, an image represented by theimage data transmitted from the server computer is displayed. Orderinformation related to prints of the displayed image is transmitted tothe server computer from the communication terminal. The server computerstores the order information transmitted from the communicationterminal.

Furthermore, a print command is transmitted to the server computer fromthe communication terminal. The server computer controls a printer so asto print the image represented by the image data specified on the basisof the order information stored in the storage device in response to thereceiving of the print command.

According to the present invention, the image data is stored in theimage database in the server computer. When the communication terminaltransmits the image transmission request to the server computer, theimage data stored in the image database is transmitted (downloaded) tothe communication terminal. The communication terminal has the displaydevice. Accordingly, a user of the communication terminal can see (view)the downloaded images. The image whose extra prints are desired to bemade can be selected on the display screen. The image (frame) whoseextra prints are desired to be made need not be necessarily selecteddepending on the image printed on printing paper or the like. The servercomputer and the communication terminal are connected to each otherthrough the network. Accordingly, the extra prints can be orderedwithout visiting the place where the server computer having the imagedatabase storing the image data is installed (for example, a DEP agent).

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the order informationrelated to prints is stored once in the storage device in the server.The printer is subjected to print control in response to the printcommand transmitted to the server computer from the communicationterminal thereafter on the basis of the order information stored in thestorage device. The print command is what is called one for making theorder information definite. The control of the printer (control forprinting the image) is waited for until the print command istransmitted. The transition to printing processing does not occur untilthe print command is issued. For example, extra prints (prints of theimage represented by the image data stored in the image database) areordered from each of a plurality of members belonging to a group. Theorder information is stored in the storage device in the servercomputer. When one of the members (for example, a representative)transmits the print command to the server computer, the printer iscontrolled in accordance with the order information stored in thestorage device, so that the image is printed. That is, the membertransmits the order information to the server computer in a time periodelapsed until the print command is transmitted. Before the print commandis issued, the contents of the order information can be also changed.

Preferably, the order information includes information for specifyingthe image as well as desired number-of-prints information representingthe desired number of prints of the specified image. When image datarepresenting a plurality of images is stored in the image database, itis indicated which of the images should be printed or how many extraprints of the image should be made.

In one mode, the server computer further comprises means for calculatinga print charge on the basis of the desired number-of-prints information,and print charge transmission means for transmitting to thecommunication terminal data representing the calculated print charge.The print charge may be transmitted by other methods such as an E-mailand a facsimile. The required print charge can be presented to a user ofthe communication terminal.

In another mode, the server computer further comprises means forcalculating a planned completion date (and time) for prints in responseto the print command from the communication terminal, and plannedcompletion date transmission means for transmitting to the communicationterminal data representing the calculated planned completion date (andtime). The printer is controlled such that the image is printed inaccordance with the order information in response to the print command.Accordingly, the planned completion date (and time) for prints can bepreviously calculated. The planned completion date (and time) may bevaried depending on the number of prints, or may be varied depending onthe day of the week on which the print command is issued.

In still another mode, the server computer further comprises ordercondition information transmission means for transmitting to thecommunication terminal order condition information represented on thebasis of the order information stored in the storage device in responseto an order condition confirmation request from the communicationterminal. The contents of the order represented by the order informationcan be confirmed before being determined (printed by the printer) by theprint command.

In the transmission of the image data responsive to the imagetransmission request from the communication terminal, the image data maybe successively transmitted in response to the image transmissionrequest the image corresponding to one frame at a time, or image datacorresponding to a plurality of frames may be transmitted by issuing theimage transmission request once. From the image data stored in the imagedatabase, image data having a smaller data capacity (for example, athumbnail image) may be generated, to transmit to the communicationterminal the generated image data having a small data capacity.Preferably, the server computer further comprises means for acceptingfrom the communication terminal the transmission of display device typeinformation related to the type of the display device provided in thecommunication terminal. The image data transmission means (device)converts the image data stored in the image database into image dataadaptable to the display device in the communication terminal inaccordance with the display device type information and transmits theimage data to the communication terminal. On the display device in thecommunication terminal used for seeing (viewing) the image, the imageadaptable to the type of the display device can be displayed. Theterminal type information may be information related to the type of thecommunication terminal (a portable telephone set, a personal computer,etc.), information related to the type (black-and-white or color) of thedisplay device itself (a display) or the display capability of thedisplay device, or the like. For example, it is also possible to choosethat the image data is transmitted one frame at a time if thecommunication terminal having a small display screen is used, whilebeing transmitted a plurality of frames at a time if the communicationterminal having a large display screen is used.

Preferably, the server computer further comprises image dataregistration acceptance means for accepting the registration of theimage data stored in the image database, and first ID generation meansfor generating an image ordering ID and a print commanding ID incorrelation with the accepted image data in response to the acceptanceof the image data by the image data registration acceptance means. Theimage transmission request transmitted from the communication terminalshall include the image ordering ID. The image data transmission means(device) transmits to the communication terminal the image datacorrelated with the image ordering ID in response to the imagetransmission request from the communication terminal. The print commandtransmitted from the communication terminal shall include the printcommanding ID. The printer control means (controller) controls theprinter so as to print an image represented by the image data correlatedwith the print commanding ID in response to the print command from thecommunication terminal.

The acceptance of the image data includes the acceptance (receiving) ofimage data by communication through a network in addition to theacceptance from an undeveloped film, a developed film, or a recordingmedium such as a memory card or a CD-R (CD-Recordable). The imagerecorded on the film is subjected to image reading processing using ascanner (an image reader) in advance. Image data obtained by the imagereading processing is stored in the image database.

In accepting the image data, one film or one recording medium (a memorycard, a CD-R, etc.) may be taken as a unit of acceptance, or a pluralityof films (negatives) which have been developed may be taken as a unit ofacceptance. Generally, the image data representing the plurality ofimages is recorded or stored in one film or one recording medium.Accordingly, the image ordering ID and the print commanding ID which aregenerated by the first ID generation means are correlated with aplurality of image data (a plurality of groups of image data).

Even when the image data representing a lot of images is stored in theimage database, by correlating the image ordering ID and the printcommanding ID with the groups of image data, the particular group ofimage data can be transmitted to the communication terminal on the basisof the image ordering ID, and the print command can be issued withrespect to the particular group of image data on the basis of the printcommanding ID. Since the image ordering ID and the print commanding IDare generated in response to the acceptance of the image data, thegroups of image data respectively specified by the image ordering ID andthe print commanding ID are correlated with each other (images in agroup comprising several members, for example).

For example, a common identification code is included in respectiveparts of the image ordering ID and the print commanding ID. Image datain one unit of acceptance (a group of image data) is correlated with oneholder in the image database. The common identification code is alsoincluded in a part of the holder name of the holder. Consequently, theimage ordering ID and the print commanding ID are correlated with thegroups of image data.

By thus including the image ordering ID in the image transmissionrequest transmitted to the server computer from the communicationterminal, the user of the communication terminal can view (see) theimages represented by the image data correlated with the image orderingID out of the image data stored in the image database. The user of thecommunication terminal selects the image whose prints are ordered out ofthe read images, and determines the number of prints (the number ofextra prints) of the image. The print commanding ID is included in theprint command, thereby making it possible to judge which of the imagesrepresented by the image data in the image database should be printed.Of course, the user of the communication terminal is previously informedof the image ordering ID and the print commanding ID. For example, ifeach of a plurality of members belonging to a group is previouslyinformed of the image ordering ID, the images of the group to which themember belongs can be displayed on a display device in a communicationterminal on the side of the member. All the members belonging to thegroup need not be necessarily informed of the print commanding ID. Ifany one of the members is informed of the print commanding ID, themember transmits the print command to the server computer, therebycontrolling the printer such that the images are printed on the basis oforder information related to all the members.

The server computer may further comprise password generation means forrespectively generating an image ordering password corresponding to theimage ordering ID and a print commanding password corresponding to theprint commanding ID which are generated by the first ID generationmeans, image data transmission judgment means for judging whether or notthe image data should be transmitted to the communication terminal onthe basis of the image ordering ID and the image ordering password, andprint judgment means for judging whether or not the printer should becontrolled so as to print the image represented by the image data on thebasis of the print commanding ID and the print commanding password. Theimage transmission request transmitted from the communication terminalshall further include the image ordering password. The image datatransmission means (device) transmits the image data to thecommunication terminal when it is judged that the image data can betransmitted by the image data transmission judgment means on the basisof the image ordering ID and the image ordering password. The printcommand transmitted from the communication terminal shall furthercomprise the print commanding password. The printer control meanscontrols the printer so as to print the image represented by the imagedata in a case where it is judged that printing is possible by the printjudgment means on the basis of the print commanding ID and the printcommanding password. The image ordering password and the printcommanding password can be utilized for so-called authenticationprocessing. It is possible to limit access to the server computer (imagereading) by a person other than a person who has been previouslyinformed of the image ordering ID and the image ordering password. It ispossible to limit the print command issued by a person other than aperson who has been previously informed of the print commanding ID andthe print commanding password.

The server computer may further comprise second ID generation means forgenerating a member specifying ID in correlation with the image orderingID generated by the first ID generation means. The storage device maystore the order information transmitted from the communication terminaland the member specifying ID with both correlated with each other. Ifthe member specifying ID, together with the order information, istransmitted from the communication terminal, it is possible to specify,when a group comprises a plurality of members, which of the membersorders prints.

In a preferred mode, the server computer further comprises means forerasing from the image database the image data stored in the imagedatabase when a predetermined set time period has elapsed from a datefor acceptance of the image data by the image data registrationacceptance means. When a predetermined time period (the number of days)has elapsed since the image data was stored (registered), the image datais erased from the image database, thereby making it possible to makeeffective use of the image database.

The server computer may further comprise erasure confirmationtransmission means for transmitting data representing a planned erasuredate to the communication terminal prior to erasing the image data bythe erasure means. The erasure means may extend the set time period forthe image data specified on the basis of the order information stored inthe storage device in response to the print command from thecommunication terminal.

The present invention also provides a server computer and acommunication terminal which constitute the print ordering system and amethod of controlling the same.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a printing device withrespect to an undeveloped film.

The printing device according to the present invention comprises meansfor (a developer) developing an undeveloped film; printing means for (aprinter) printing an image represented by image information recorded ona developed film; and means for (an image reader) reading the imageinformation recorded on the developed film and storing the read imageinformation in a database.

The undeveloped film, which has been photographed, taken into a DPEagent, for example, is developed and printed by the printing device, andimage information representing the image is stored in the database. Theimage information stored in the database can be transmitted through thenetwork or the like, or can be utilized in the above-mentioned printordering system.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a printing device foreffectively utilizing the reverse surface of a print on which an imagehas been printed.

The printing device according to the present invention comprises a firststorage device storing image data and print order information acceptancemeans for accepting information related to a print order, and prints, onthe basis of the print order information, an image represented by theimage data stored in the first storage device.

The printing device further comprises a second storage device forstoring for each print order member specifying information forspecifying a member who has given the print order, group specifyinginformation for specifying a group to which the member belongs, andimage specifying information for specifying an image whose prints havebeen ordered with the information correlated with each other, imageprinting means for (an image printer) printing on the surface ofprinting paper the image, represented by the image data stored in thefirst storage device, which is specified by the image specifyinginformation stored in the second storage device, and informationprinting means for (an information printer) printing on the reversesurface of the printing paper the member specifying information, thegroup specifying information, and the image specifying information whichare stored in the second storage device in correspondence with the imagedisplayed on the surface of the printing paper.

When the prints are handed to the members belonging to the group,information (member information, group specifying information, and imagespecifying information) printed on the respective reverse surfaces ofthe prints (printing paper) can be utilized. Work such as classificationas to which of the groups should be selected, which of the membersbelonging to the selected group should be selected, and which imageshould be handed to the member.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when considered in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a printordering system;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the contents of a database.

FIG. 3 is an example of a group data table;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an order table;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the schematic circuit configuration ofa portable telephone set;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the portabletelephone set;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the flow of image registrationprocessing;

FIGS. 8 to 10 are flow charts showing the flow of processing of a serverand a terminal in viewing/ordering processing;

FIG. 11 illustrates an ID and password entry page;

FIG. 12 illustrates a nickname new entry/selection page;

FIG. 13 illustrates a nickname entry page;

FIG. 14 illustrates-an image selection page;

FIG. 15 illustrates a number-of-ordered prints entry page;

FIG. 16 illustrates an order content confirmation page:

FIG. 17 illustrates a viewing/ordering processing termination page;

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing of a server and aterminal in order determination processing;

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing of a server and aterminal in reordering processing;

FIG. 20 illustrates an order condition confirmation page;

FIG. 21 illustrates a group order determination page;

FIG. 22 illustrates an individual order condition confirmation page;

FIG. 23 illustrates a reorder confirmation page;

FIG. 24 illustrates a confirmation page;

FIG. 25 illustrates an example of order details; and

FIG. 26 illustrates an example of the reverse surface of a print.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Configuration of Print Ordering System

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of aprint ordering system.

The print ordering system comprises an image input-output system 1 and avariety of information communication terminals (terminal units) (aportable telephone set 20A, a portable information communicationterminal (an electronic notebook, etc.) 20B, a personal computer 20C,etc.) which can be connected to each other through a network 15(including either one of a public line and a dedicated line, forexample, the Internet and an intranet). The image input-output system 1is installed in a DPE agent (shop), for example. A user who requests toprint a photograph (which may, in some cases, involve development) usingthe print ordering system shall have the variety of informationcommunication terminals in the present embodiment.

The image input-output system 1 comprises a scanner 3, a printer 4, adigital data acceptor 5, a server 6, and a router 8. All of them areconnected to a LAN (Local Area Network) 2, and can transmit and receivedata (inclusive of image data) to and from each other.

The scanner 3 performs processing for scanning an image recorded on afilm 9 and changing the image into digital image data (digitization). Ifthe film 9 has not been developed yet, the film 9 is previouslydeveloped in a developer 3A.

The printer 4 prints on photographic printing paper an image representedby the digital image data fed from the scanner 3 or the server 6 andoutputs the printed image (outputs a print 10).

The digital data acceptor 5 is for reading digital image data recordedon a recording medium such as the memory card 11 or a CD (Compact Disk)12 (which includes a write-once one). The digital data acceptor 5comprises a drive (a memory card drive, a CD drive, etc.) for readingout the digital image data recorded on the memory card 11 or the CD 12.

The server 6 forms the backbone of the print ordering system, andprovides the image represented by the digital image data so as to bereadable (so that capable of being displayed or viewed) underpredetermined conditions for the variety of information communicationterminals (the portable telephone set 20A, the portable informationterminal 20B, the personal computer 20C, etc.) which have accessed theserver 6 through the network 15, as described later. A database 7 isconnected to the server 6, and the digital image data stored in thedatabase 7 is transmitted to the variety of information communicationterminals through the network 15. The details of processing performed bythe server 6 in the print ordering system will be described later.

The router 8 controls the transmission and receiving of the data betweenthe server 6 and the variety of information communication terminals.

The manner of the typical operation of the print ordering system is asfollows.

One (a representative) of a plurality of members belonging to a grouptakes the film 9 into a shop. In the shop, images recorded on the film 9are read and stored as digital image data in the database 7 by anoperation of a clerk employed in the shop. Each of the members belongingto the group accesses the server 6 in the image input-output system 1using the information communication terminal such as the portabletelephone set 20A, to order prints. Finally, the representative of thegroup definitely decides the print order of each the member (orderdetermination). By the order determination, processing for printing theimage or images conforming to the contents of the print order by themember is performed in the shop. The representative of the groupreceives the prints in the shop, and distributes the received printsamong the members.

In such a print ordering system, the following three processing isbasically performed.

Image Registration Processing

This processing is for digitizing the images recorded on the film 9which a user of the print ordering system (the representative) takesinto the shop and registering the digital image data into the database7. When the user takes a medium on which the digital image data has beenrecorded, for example, a memory card into the shop, it goes withoutsaying that the digitization processing is omitted. The digital imagedata may be transmitted to the shop (the image input-output system 1)through the network 15. As described later, in the image registrationprocessing, an ID is issued, or a password is issued (generated), forexample. The details of the image registration processing will bedescribed later.

{circle around (2)} Viewing/Ordering Processing

This processing is for accepting a print order by the user utilizing theinformation communication terminal. While seeing images displayed on adisplay screen of the portable telephone set 20A, for example (imagesstored in the database 7 in the server 6) (viewing), the user selectsthe image to be ordered and determines the order number of prints of theimage (ordering). In viewing and ordering the image, the ID and thepassword which have been issued in the image registration processing (aviewing/ordering ID and a viewing/ordering password) are used. Thedetails of the viewing/ordering processing will be described later.

{circle around (3)} Order Determination Processing

This processing is for definitely deciding (determining) the print orderutilizing the information communication terminal. In the orderdetermination processing, an ID and a password (an order determining IDand an order determining password) which respectively differ from theviewing/ordering ID and the viewing/ordering password which are used inthe viewing/ordering processing are used. The details of the orderdetermination processing will be described later.

(1) Database

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates the contents of the database 7.

The database 7 stores a group data table 41, an image stock holder 43,and an order table holder 44. Further, digital image data is registered(stored) so as to belong to the image stock holder 43. An order table 42is registered so as to belong to the order table holder 44.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the group data table 41.

The group data table 41 (FIG. 3) includes items “Group ID”, “Grouprepresentative information”, “Database (DB) registration date & time”,“Planned deletion date & time”, “Viewing/ordering ID”, “Viewing/orderingpassword”, “Order determining ID”, “Order determining password”, “Imagestock holder”, and “Order table holder”.

“Group ID” is a code assigned to each of groups each comprising aplurality of members for identifying the group. “Group representativeinformation” stores the name, the telephone number, and the E-mailaddress of a representative of the group. In the group data table 41,one record is assigned to one group. The image stock holder 42 and theorder table holder 43 are assigned to each of the groups.

“DB registration date & time” is a date and time (year, month, day andtime) on which digital image data is registered in the database 7.“Planned deletion date & time” is a planned date and time on which thedigital image data registered in the database 7 is deleted (erased) fromthe database 7.

“Viewing/ordering ID” and “Viewing/ordering password” are codes usedwhen each of the members belonging to the group views and orders animage in the group, to which the member himself or herself belongs,previously registered in the database 7 in the server 6 using theportable telephone set 20A, for example, and authorizing him or her.

“Order determining ID” and “Order determining password” are codes usedwhen the representative of the group definitely decides (determines) theorder by each of the members belonging to the group and authorizing therepresentative.

Stored (described) in “Image stock holder” is a pass in the database 7(or in a storage device provided in the server 6 including the database7) to a holder (the image stock holder 43) to which the digital imagedata belongs with respect to each of the groups. Stored (described) in“Order table holder” is a pass to a holder (the order table holder 44)to which the order table 42 belongs with respect to each of the groups.Both of the pass to the image stock holder 43 and the order table holder44 include the same character string as the above-mentioned group ID.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the order table 42.

The order table 42 (an order file) is created for each record (that is,for each group) in the group data table 41.

The order table 42 is provided with items “Group ID”, “Order status”,“Order date & time”, “Planned completion date & time”, “Member number”,“Nickname”, “Type of order”, and “Ordered image number/number of orderedprints”. Each of the items “Group ID”, “Order status”, “Order date &time”, and “Planned deletion date & time” is provided with respect toone order table (group). The items “Member number”, “Nickname”, “Type oforder”, and “Ordered image number/number of ordered prints” are providedwith respect to each of the members belonging to the group.

“Order status” indicates whether or not the order has been determined bythe representative of the group (whether determination processing of theorder executed by each of the members belonging to the group has beenperformed). Either one of “Yet” and “Already” is stored. “Yet” indicatesthat the order has not been determined yet, and “Already” indicates thatthe order has already been determined.

“Order date & time” indicates a date and time on which the order isdetermined by the representative of the group. “Planned completion date& time” indicates a planned date and time on which prints of the imageshave been made and can be handed in the shop.

37 Member number” is a number assigned to each of the members belongingto the group. “Nickname” is a nickname for each of the members belongingto the group.

“Type of order” is for distinguishing between simultaneous printing(development and printing) and extra printing (only printing). When anundeveloped film is taken into the shop, “Simultaneous printing” isstored with respect 10 to the member who has taken the undeveloped film.“Extra printing” is stored with respect to the other members.

“Order image number/number of ordered prints” stores the image number ofthe image whose prints are desired to be made by each of the membersbelonging to the group and the desired is number of prints of the imagespecified by the image number.

Each of the members belonging to the group selects the image whoseprints are desired to be made and enters the desired number of prints ofthe selected image to register them in the database 7 (the order table42) of the server 6, using the information communication terminal (theportable telephone set 20A, the portable communication terminal 20B, thepersonal computer 20C, etc.). FIG. 5 shows the schematic electricalconfiguration of the portable telephone set 20A which is one of theinformation communication terminals.

The portable telephone set 20A comprises a control circuit 30. Thecontrol circuit 30 comprises a central processing unit and itsinput-output interface. The overall operation of the portable telephoneset 20A is supervised by the control circuit 30. Atransmission/receiving circuit 31, a sound receiving circuit 32, a soundtransmission circuit 33, an input device 34, a display device 35, and aterminal function circuit 36 are connected to the control circuit 30. Anantenna 29 is connected to the transmission/receiving circuit 31.

The portable telephone set 20A is basically used for transmitting andreceiving voice (sound) to and from another portable telephone set,general telephone equipment, or the like. When the input device 34 isused to enter the telephone number of a portable telephone set or thelike on the side of the other party, data representing the inputtedtelephone number is sent to a base station (an exchange) through thecontrol circuit 30, the transmission/receiving circuit 31, and theantenna 29. When a line is connected to the portable telephone set orthe like on the side of the other party, voice is transmitted andreceived between the portable telephone set 20A and the portabletelephone set or the like on the side of the other party.

Voice data received through the antenna 29 and thetransmission/receiving circuit 31 is decoded by the control circuit 30and the sound receiving circuit 32. When the decoded voice data is fedto a speaker 23, the voice of the other party is heard from the speaker23. When voice (a word) is given toward the receiver (microphone) 24,the voice is encoded by the sound transmission circuit 33 and thecontrol circuit 30, and is outputted as voice data. The voice data istransmitted to the portable telephone set or the like on the side of theother party through the transmission/receiving circuit 31 and theantenna 29.

The portable telephone set 20A can transmit and receive another data(character data, image data, etc.) besides transmitting and receivingthe voice. Therefore, a communication program (for example, a browser)is stored in the terminal function circuit 36 connected to the controlcircuit 30.

The browser is a communication program used for connecting the portabletelephone set 20A to the server 6 (and another server) through thenetwork 15. The use of the browser allows the database 7 in the server 6in the image input-output system 1 to be accessed from the portabletelephone set 20A. Various types of data (character data, image data,etc.) stored in the database 7 are transmitted to the portable telephoneset 20A through the network 15, and received by the antenna 29 and thetransmission/receiving circuit 31. Characters represented by thecharacter data, images represented by the image data, and so forth canbe displayed on the display screen of the display device 35.

An example of the appearance of the portable telephone set 20A havingthe above-mentioned electrical configuration is illustrated inperspective in FIG. 6.

The upper half of the portable telephone set 20A shown in FIG. 6 isprovided with a display device 35 (a display screen 27), a speaker 23,and an antenna 29. Characters and images are displayed on the displayscreen 27 of the display device 35.

The lower half of the portable telephone set 20A comprises an inputdevice 34 and a receiver 24. The input device 34 comprises various typesof keys and buttons such as a ten-key pad 25, an up-down-right-left key26, a network connection button 21, and a determination button 28. Thekeys and buttons are used for transmitting and receiving data to andfrom the server 6.

(2) Operation of Print Ordering System

{circle around (1)} Image Registration Processing

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the flow of image registration processingwhich is one processing of the print ordering system.

The film 9 (which shall be a photographed film) is taken into the shopby the representative of the group. When the representative of the groupdesires to register the digital image data (representing images of thefilm 9) in the database 7 (YES at step 51), a clerk opens the group datatable 41 in the database 7 using the server 6, and creates a new recordin the group data table 41 (step 52). The representative of the groupinforms the clerk of his or her name, telephone number and E-mailaddress (group representative information). The clerk enters the grouprepresentative information into the server 6.

A group ID, a viewing/ordering ID, a viewing/ordering password, an orderdetermining ID, and an order determining password are issued by theserver 6 (step 53). The group ID, the viewing/ordering ID, theviewing/ordering password, the order determining ID, and the orderdetermining password which have been issued, and the entered grouprepresentative information (the name, the telephone number, and theE-mail address of the representative of the group) are stored in thenewly created record in the group data table 41. Further, in thedatabase 7, a new order table 42 including the issued group ID as anitem, and an image stock holder 43 and an order table holder 44 arecreated. The order table 42 is stored in the database 7 so as to belongto the created order table holder 44.

The representative of the group who takes the film 9 is informed of theviewing/ordering ID, the viewing/ordering password, the orderdetermining ID, and the order determining password, and the URL (UniformResource Locator; address) of the shop (which may be handed after beingprinted on paper, or may be reported by an E-mail). The representativeof the group informs the other members belonging to the group of theviewing/ordering ID, the viewing/ordering password, and the URL of theshop out of the viewing/ordering ID, the viewing/ordering password, theorder determining ID, and the order determining password and the URL ofthe shop which have been reported. The other members are not generallyinformed of the order determining ID and the order determining password.

In the shop, the scanner 3 is used, to scan the deposited film 9.Digital image data is obtained (step 54). The obtained digital imagedata is fed to the database 7 in the server 6 through the LAN 2, and isregistered (stored) in correlation with the created image stock holder43 (step 56). The scanning of all images (frames) included in the film 9and the registration of the obtained digital image data into thedatabase 7 are repeated (NO at step 57, and step 54).

When simultaneous prints are made, the digital image data obtained bythe scanner 3 is also fed to the printer 4, and is printed therein.Obtained prints are outputted (step 55).

When the registration of the digital image data into the database 7 isterminated (YES at step 57), the database 7 is closed, therebyterminating the image registration processing (step 58).

When the digital image data is not registered in the database 7 (whenextra prints are not particularly ordered using the informationcommunication terminal) (NO at step 51), the digital image data obtainedby the scanner 3 is fed to only the printer 4 (steps 59 and 60). Whenthe printing of all the frames is terminated, the processing isterminated (YES at step 61).

{circle around (1)} Viewing/Ordering Processing

FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 are flow charts showing processing of the server 6and the information communication terminal in viewing/orderingprocessing which is one processing of the print ordering system, alongwith the flow of data. The viewing/ordering processing is for themembers belonging to the group viewing the images recorded on the filmtaken into the shop by the representative using the informationcommunication terminal and ordering the prints of the images. A casewhere the used information communication terminal is the portabletelephone set 20A (see FIGS. 5 and 6) is taken as an example. FIGS. 11to 17 illustrate examples of a page (a window) displayed on the displayscreen 27 of the portable telephone set 20A.

When the net connection button 21 in the portable telephone set 20A ispressed, the portable telephone set 20A enters a mode for connection tothe network 15. The member enters the URL of the shop previouslyreported from the representative into the portable telephone set 20Ausing the ten-key pad 25 or the like, and then presses the determinationbutton 28 (step 71). A connection message is transmitted to the sever 6from the portable telephone set 20A. The server 6 which received themessage transmits data representing an ID and password entry page (HTML(HyperText Markup Language) data, etc.) toward the portable telephoneset 20A (step 72). An ID and password entry page W1 (FIG. 11) isdisplayed on the display screen 27 of the portable telephone set 20A(step 73).

The ID and password entry page W1 includes an area W1 a into which an IDis to be entered, an area W1 b into which a password is to be entered,and an “OK” button.

When an up key or a down key in the up-down-right-left key 26 in theportable telephone set 20A is pressed, an area into which characters canbe entered (clicked) is moved. The member takes the ID entry area W1 aas the area into which characters can be entered (the area into whichcharacters can be entered is overlapped with the ID entry area W1 a)using the up-down-right-left key 26. The viewing/ordering ID previouslyreported from the representative is entered into the ID entry area W1 ausing the ten-key pad 25 or the like. In the same manner, theviewing/ordering password is entered into the password entry area W1 busing the ten-key pad 25 or the like. Thereafter, the “OK” button istaken as the area into which characters can be entered (the area wherecharacters can be entered is overlapped with a character representation“OK” using the up-down-right-left key 26). When the determination button28 in the portable telephone set 20A is pressed, the viewing/ordering IDand the viewing/ordering password which have been entered aretransmitted toward the server 6 (step 74).

In the server 6 which has received the viewing/ordering ID and theviewing/ordering password, authentication processing is performed. Thatis, when both of the viewing/ordering ID and the viewing/orderingpassword which have been received are the same as ones stored in onerecord in the group data table 41, the program proceeds the subsequentprocessing (YES at step 75). When errors occur in both or either one ofthe viewing/ordering ID and the viewing/ordering password (they do notcoincide with the ones stored in one record in the group data table 41),predetermined error processing (for example, processing for indicatingthat authentication failed on the display screen 27 of the portabletelephone set 20A), thereby terminating the viewing/ordering processing(NO at step 75).

When authentication succeeded (both the viewing/ordering ID and theviewing/ordering password coincide with the ones stored in the onerecord in the group data table 41), a group (a group ID) including themember who accesses the server 6 using the portable telephone set 20A isspecified with the viewing/ordering ID used as a key. The group ID canbe specified from the viewing/ordering ID by including the group ID(000601-3) in a part of the viewing/ordering ID (B-000601-3) forexample, as shown in FIG. 3.

An order status related to the specified group ID is referred to in theorder table 42 (see FIG. 4) (step 76). When a group order (a definiteorder given by the representative of the group, described later) has notbeen given yet (the order status is “Yet”), the program proceeds to thesubsequent processing (YES at step 76). When the group order has alreadybeen given by the representative of the group (the order status is“Already”), it is indicated on the display screen 27 of the portabletelephone set 20A that the order has already been completed, therebyterminating the viewing/ordering processing (NO at step 76).

When the group order has not been given yet (YES at step 76, and theorder status is “Yet”), a nickname new entry/selection page W2 istransmitted to the portable telephone set 20A from the server 6 (step77), and is displayed on the display screen 27 (step 78; FIG. 12).

On the nickname new entry/selection page W2, “1. New” for newlyregistering a nickname and nicknames (“2. taro”, “3. jiro”, and “4.sabu”), which have already been registered, of the members are displayed(a member display area W2 b). There is a character representation “Top”(means “to top”) in a lower part of the page. A selection instructionarea W2 a comprising an upper arrow, a lower arrow, and a characterrepresentation “Push” therebetween is displayed above the member displayarea W2 b. A selection instruction area W2 a can be used when the areawhere characters can be entered is moved upward or downward.

When “Top” is selected using the up key or the down key in theup-down-right-left key 26 or the selection instruction area W2 a (theselecting operation is the same as those on the other pages), and thedetermination button 28 is pressed, the ID and password entry page W1 isdisplayed again on the display screen 27 in place of the nickname newentry/selection page W2 (which is the same on the other pages).

When a new nickname is registered, “1. New” is selected, and thedetermination button 28 is pressed. A nickname entry page W3 isdisplayed on the display screen 27 (FIG. 13) in place of the nicknamenew entry/selection page W2. The nickname entry page W3 includes an areaW3 a into which a nickname is entered and a character representation“Top”.

When the nickname is entered into the nickname entry area W3 a (step79), and the determination button 28 is pressed, that is transmitted tothe server 6 and a new record (a rear half part) is created in the ordertable 42 (FIG. 4) in the database 7 in the server 6. The created newrecord stores a member number newly adopted and the entered nickname(Newly enter at step 80, and step 81).

An image stock holder 43 is specified with the group ID used inauthentication processing (step 75) as a key (the pass to the imagestock holder 43 includes the group ID). Digital image data is read outof the specified image stock holder 43. An image selection page W4including the read digital image data is created, and is transmittedfrom the server 6 toward the portable telephone set 20A (step 83 andstep 84).

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of the image selection page W4. The imageselection page W4 includes an image display area W4 a, a selectioninstruction area W4 b, an image number/total-of-images display area W4c, a number-of-ordered prints display area W4 d, and characterrepresentations “Top” and “Next”.

On the image display area W4 a, images represented by the digital imagedata belonging to the image stock holder 43 specified by the group IDare displayed one of frames corresponding to the images at a time. Onthe image number/total-of-images display area W4 c, the image number andthe total number of the images represented by the image data belongingto the image stock holder 43 (1/16 in FIG. 14; which indicates that thedigital image data corresponding to 16 frames is stored in the imagestock holder 43 specified by the group ID, and the displayed imagecorresponds to the first frame). The number of ordered prints of theimage displayed on the image display area W4 a is displayed on thenumber-of-ordered prints display area W4 d.

When the up key or the down key in the up-down-right-left key 26 ispressed (or an upward arrow or a downward arrow in the selectioninstruction area W4 b is selected), the image displayed on the imagedisplay area W4 a is switched to the image represented by the otherdigital image data belonging to the image stock holder 43. The imagenumber in the image number/total-of-images display area W4 c is switchedto an image number corresponding to the image displayed on the imagedisplay area W4 a (2/16, 3/16 16/16).

When the determination button 28 is pressed in a state where the imagewhose prints are desired to be made is displayed on the image displayarea W4 a (step 85), a page into which the number of ordered prints isto be entered (a number-of-ordered prints entry page W5; FIG. 15) isdisplayed on the display screen 27 in place of the image selection pageW4 (steps 86 and 87). The number-of-ordered prints entry page W5 alsoincludes an image display area W5 a, an image number/total-of-imagesdisplay area W5 c, and a number-of-ordered prints display area W5 d. Thenumber-of-ordered prints entry page W5 further includes anumber-of-ordered prints entry area W5 b and character representations“Forward” and “Determine”.

The member enters the number of ordered prints of the image displayed onthe image display area W5 a into the number-of-ordered prints entry areaW5 b using the ten-key pad 25 or the like (step 88).

When “Forward” in a lower part of the number-of-ordered prints entrypage W5 is selected, and the determination button 28 is pressed, theimage selection page W4 (FIG. 14) is displayed again on the displayscreen 27 (Forward at step 89, and step 84). When “Determine” isselected, and the determination button 28 is pressed, data representingan order corresponding to the number of ordered prints of the imagedisplayed on the display screen 27 (the selected image) is transmittedtoward the server 6 (Determine at step 89). A number representing thenumber of ordered prints (a code representing the number) is stored at aposition of the image number, corresponding to the selected image, in“Ordered image number/number of ordered prints” in the order table 42(step 90). The image selection page W4 is displayed again on the displayscreen 27. When prints of the other image are also ordered, the memberrepeats the above-mentioned operations (YES at step 92, step 83, YES atstep 91, and step 84).

When the print order is terminated, a character representation “Next”included in the image selection page W4 (FIG. 14) is selected, and thedetermination button 28 is pressed (NO at step 91, and NO at step 92).In the server 6, “Ordered image number/number-of-ordered prints” in theorder table 42 is referred to, to calculate a print charge (a sum ofmoney), and an order content confirmation page W6 is created and istransmitted to the portable telephone set 20A. As shown in FIG. 16, theorder content confirmation page W6 includes an order content displayarea W6 a (the ordered image number and the number of ordered prints ofthe image are displayed), a total-of-ordered prints display area W6 b,and a calculated print charge display area W6 c.

The order confirmation page W6 includes character representations“Forward” and “Order”. When “Order” is selected, and the determinationbutton 28 is pressed, order data is transmitted to the server 6 from theportable telephone set 20A (YES at step 95, and step 96). A terminationpage W7 is transmitted to the portable telephone set 20A from the server6 (Order at step 98, and step 99), and is displayed on the displayscreen 27 (step 101; FIG. 17), thereby terminating the reading/orderingprocessing.

When “Forward” is selected in the order confirmation page W6, and thedetermination button 28 is pressed, clear data is transmitted to theserver 6 from the portable telephone set 20A (step 97). The server 6which has received the clear data clears data representing the numbersof ordered prints of the images, which are stored in the order table 42with respect to the member (set all the data to zero) (Clear at step 98,and step 100). The image selection page W4 (FIG. 14) is displayed againon the display screen 27 (steps 83 and 84).

The members can change the contents of the order until the group order(definite order), described later, is given by the representative of thegroup. The member who has performed the second or subsequentviewing/ordering selects corresponding one of the nicknames displayed onthe member display area W2 b in the nickname new entry/selection page W2(FIG. 12), and presses the determination button 28 (FIG. 8; step 79).The server 6 refers to the column “Ordered image number/number ofordered prints” in the order table 42 with the selected nickname as akey (Select at step 80, and step 82). In this case, the number ofordered prints which has already been stored in the column “Orderedimage number/number of ordered prints” in the order table 42 isdisplayed in the number-of-ordered prints display areas W4 d and W5 d inrespective lower parts of the image selection page W4 and thenumber-of-ordered prints entry page W5 which are displayed on thedisplay screen 27.

{circle around (3)} Order Determination Processing (and ReorderProcessing)

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing processing of the server 6 and theinformation communication terminal in order determination (group order)processing which is one processing of the print ordering system, alongwith the flow of data. FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing processing of theserver 6 and the information communication terminal in reorderingprocessing performed in the order determination processing, along withthe flow of data. The order determination processing is for therepresentative of the group definitely deciding (determining) the orderby each of the members belonging to the group after the memberterminates the above-mentioned ordering processing. The flow chart shownin FIG. 18 includes the same processing as that in the flow chart shownin FIG. 8, and the same processing steps are respectively assigned thesame reference numerals and hence, the overlapped detailed descriptionis not repeated. FIGS. 20 to 24 illustrate examples of a page displayedon the display screen 27 of the portable telephone set 20A.

When the representative of the group enters into the portable telephoneset 20A the URL of the shop in which he or she deposits the film 9, theID and password entry page W1 is displayed on the display screen 27(steps 71 to 73; FIG. 11).

In the order determination processing, the order determining ID and theorder determining password are respectively entered into the ID entryarea W1 a and the password entry area W1 b in the ID and password entrypage W1. The representative of the group is previously informed of theorder determining ID and the order determining password.

When a character representation “OK” in the ID and password entry pageW1 is selected, and the determination button 28 is pressed, the orderdetermining ID and the order determining password which have beenentered are transmitted to the server 6 from the portable telephone set20A (step 111). In the server 6, authentication processing is performed(step 112). When both of the order determining ID and the orderdetermining password which have been received coincide with ones storedin one record in the group data table 41, the program proceeds to thesubsequent processing (YES at step 112). When errors occur in both oreither one of the order determining ID and the order determiningpassword (they do not coincide with the stored ones), predeterminederror processing is performed, thereby terminating the orderdetermination processing (NO at step 112).

When authentication succeeded (YES at step 112), the order status in theorder table 42 is referred to in the server 6 (step 113).

When the order status is “Yet” (YES at step 113) (a case where the orderhas not been determined yet by the representative of the group), theserver 6 refers to the order table 42, to create an order conditionconfirmation page W8 and transmit the created order conditionconfirmation page W8 toward the portable telephone set 20A (steps 114and 115). FIG. 20 illustrates an example of the order conditionconfirmation page W8. The order condition confirmation page W8 includesa selection instruction area W8 a, a number-of-ordered prints displayarea W8 b, a total-of-ordered prints display area W8 c, and a grouporder total charge display area W8 d.

There are character representations “Top” and “Order” in a lower part ofthe order condition confirmation page W8. When “Order” is selected, andthe determination button 28 is pressed (step 116, and Order at step117), the order table 42 is referred to in the server 6, so that a grouporder (order determination) confirmation page W9 is created and istransmitted toward the portable telephone set 20A (step 118). A grouporder confirmation page W9 is displayed on the display screen 27 of theportable telephone set 20A (step 119; FIG. 21). In the server 6, theorder status in the order table 42 is updated from “Yet” to “Already”.

In the group order confirmation page W9 (FIG. 21), a date & time (year,month, day and time) on which a group order is accepted, an orderdetermining ID, the total number of ordered prints in a group, a totalsum, a planned completion date & time (year, month, day and time), andan erasure date (year, month, day and time) on which digital image dataregistered in the database 7 is erased. The planned completion date &time is a date and time obtained by adding a predetermined number ofdays (or time) to a date and time on which the group order is given (adate and time on which order determination is accepted), for example.The group order date and time and the planned completion date & time areregistered in the order table 42. The order determination processing isterminated by the display of the group order confirmation page W9.

FIGS. 25 and 26 respectively illustrate an example of order detailsissued by the server 6 and an example of information printed on thereverse surface of the print 10 handed to each of the members belongingto the group. The order details, together with photographs, may behanded to the representative of the group in the shop or may bepreviously handed to the representative of the group by an E-mail or thelike. A group ID, an image number, a member number, and a nickname areprinted on the reverse surface of the print 10.

In the member display area W8 b in the order condition confirmation pageW8 (FIG. 20), when the character representation of any one of themembers is selected, and the determination button 28 is pressed (Selectmember at step 116), order details (an individual order conditionconfirmation page W10) including the number of ordered prints for eachframe are transmitted to the portable telephone set 20A from the server6, and are displayed on the display screen 27 (Select member at step117, step 120, and step 121; FIG. 22). The individual order conditionconfirmation page W10 includes a selection instruction area W10 a, aby-image number-of-ordered prints display area W10 b, a total-of-orderedprints display area W10 c, and an order sum display area W10 d. Theorder condition confirmation page W10 also includes a characterrepresentation “Forward”. When “Forward” is selected, and thedetermination button 28 is pressed (step 122), the order conditionconfirmation page W8 (FIG. 20) is displayed again on the display screen27 (step 115).

In a state where the order determination processing has already beencompleted (the order status in the order table 42 is “Already”), whenthe order determining ID and the order determining password are receivedby the server 6 (YES at step 112, and NO at step 113), a reorderconfirmation page W11 (FIG. 23) is transmitted to the portable telephoneset 20A from the server 6 (FIG. 19; step 131), and is displayed on thedisplay screen 27 (step 132) (the order determination processing in acase where the order status is “Already” is particularly referred to asreordering processing).

As shown in FIG. 23, there are character representations ”Top” and“Reset” in a lower part of the reorder confirmation page W11. When“Reset” is selected, and the determination button 28 is pressed (step133), another order table (the second order table) is created withrespect to the group in the server 6, and is stored in the database 7. Aconfirmation page W12 (FIG. 24) is transmitted to the portable telephoneset 20A from the server 6, and is displayed on the display screen 27(steps 134 and 135). The order table 42 newly created stores the samedata as the order table (the first order table) so far used with respectto a group ID, a member number, a nickname, and the type of order, whilebeing blank with respect to an order date & time, a planned completiondate & time, and an ordered image number/number of ordered prints. “Yet”is stored in the order status. Even if the order determinationprocessing is performed once by the representative of the group, theother members belonging to the group can give orders again. An ordertable 42 newly created is stored in the database 7 so as to belong tothe order table holder 44.

Although in the above-mentioned embodiment, the group ID, theviewing/ordering ID, and the viewing/ordering password, the orderdetermining ID, and the order determining password are issued using as aunit a group comprising a plurality of members, one record is creased inthe group data table 41, and the order table 42 is created, the unitmay, of course, use another element as a basis. One film or one digitalmedia (a memory card, a CD, etc.) can be also used as a unit, or filmstrips can be used as a unit when a developed film is taken into theshop.

Although in the above-mentioned embodiment, different IDs arerespectively used as the viewing/ordering ID and the order determiningID, only the viewing/ordering password and the order determiningpassword may differ, and the viewing/ordering ID and the orderdetermining ID may be the same. The server 6 can judge which ofviewing/ordering processing and order determination processing should beperformed on the basis of the password.

A case where the portable telephone set 20A is used as an informationcommunication terminal and a case where another terminal, for example,the personal computer 20C is used as an information communicationterminal, the number of frames composing the image data to betransmitted toward the information communication terminal may bechanged. For example, one frame of image data is transmitted at one timein a case of a terminal having a small display screen, for example, theportable telephone set 20A, while being transmitted a plurality offrames (e.g., six frames) at one time in a case of a terminal having arelatively large display screen, for example, the personal computer. Ofcourse, a thumbnail image may be produced in the server 6, andtransmitted to the information communication terminal. A plurality ofimages can be looked over at a time.

In a case where an information communication terminal capable of makingcolor display and a case where an information communication terminalcapable of making only black-and-white display, image data respectivelytransmitted to the information communication terminals may be madedifferent. For example, image data which can be displayed in color isstored in the image stock holder 43. When the information communicationterminal can only make black-and-white display, image data which can bedisplayed in color is converted into image data for black-and-whitedisplay, and the image data is transmitted toward the informationcommunication terminal. Since the amount of image data transmitted tothe information communication terminal from the server 6 can be madesmall, the speed of the transmission of the image data can be increased.

As to which size is the size of the display screen (display capability)of the information communication terminal and whether or not colordisplay is possible, for example, data representing the type of usedequipment and the type of the display device may be previouslytransmitted to the server 6 from the information communication terminal.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated indetail, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustrationand example only and is not to be considered by way of limitation, thespirit and scope of the present invention being limited only by theterms of the appended claims.

1. A printing device comprising: a developer developing an undevelopedfilm; a printer printing an image represented by image informationrecorded on a developed film; and an image reader reading the imageinformation recorded on the developed film and storing the read imageinformation in a database.
 2. A printing device comprising a firststorage device storing image data and print order information acceptancemeans for accepting information related to a print order and printing,on the basis of said print order information, an image represented bythe image data stored in said first storage device, further comprising:a second storage device for storing for each print order memberspecifying information for specifying a member who has given the printorder, group specifying information for specifying a group to which themember belongs, and image specifying information for specifying an imagewhose prints have been ordered with the information correlated with oneanother; an image printer printing on the surface of printing paper theimage, represented by the image data stored in said first storagedevice, which is specified by said image specifying information storedin said second storage device; and an information printer printing onthe reverse surface of the printing paper the member specifyinginformation, the group specifying information, and the image specifyinginformation which are stored in said second storage device incorrespondence with the image printed on the surface of the printingpaper.